GREEN BAY: QB Aaron Rodgers' presence was sorely missed after he broke his collarbone in Week 6 of last season. While much of the blame for Green Bay missing the playoffs can be placed on Rodgers' injury, the truth is that Rodgers' skill-position weapons proved themselves to be rather useless when not playing with an all-time great QB. The Packers hope TE Jimmy Graham can breathe some life into their receiving corps. After giving up the most yards per pass attempt in the NFC (7.9), the Packers traded away CB Damarious Randall and lost versatile S Morgan Burnett to free agency. CBs Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson, first- and second-round draft picks respectively, need to get up to NFL speed in a hurry. Nick Perry and Clay Matthews are solid edge-rushers and DL Mike Daniels is a force up front. But if the Pack can't cover, they'll be forced into shootouts.

WASHINGTON: Head coach Jay Gruden gets the most out of his offense, and it's unlikely that Washington would have acquired QB Alex Smith if Gruden didn't think he could run the team effectively. While rookie RB Derrius Guice is promising and TE Jordan Reed dominates on the rare occasions when he's healthy, Washington has one of the weakest skill-position units in the league'certainly a downgrade from what Smith had in Kansas City. Washington showed some improvement in coordinator Greg Manusky's first season, but parted with promising, young CBs Kendall Fuller and Bashaud Breeland in the offseason. LBs Ryan Kerrigan and Zach Brown are solid, and there's hope for improvement up front with the addition of first-round draft pick DT Da'Ron Payne and the healthy return of 2017 first-rounder DE Jonathan Allen (who missed 11 games with a foot injury last season).

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Redskins brace for Rogers, Packers

All eyes continue to be on Aaron Rodgers' injured left knee as the Green Bay Packers prepare to face the Washington Redskins on Sunday in Landover, Md.

The injury affects Rodgers' mobility and thus the Packers' offensive game plan.

"He's got to know what's up -- meaning, what plays are up," Rodgers said of coach Mike McCarthy. "Can we do some (play-) action? Or can we not? And that just depends on how my knee feels.

"I don't think you can say because I did some of those things in the game (on Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings) that automatically I'll be able to do that and more on Sunday. It depends on how I'm feeling."

Rodgers acknowledged that he has thought about how the knee will hold up and whether it might get worse as he continues to it.

The Packers continue to hold him out of practices to give the knee time to rest. He's listed as probable on this week's injury report.

"Yeah, obviously that's a concern," Rodgers said. "Hopefully, it goes the other way though."

Rodgers was pressured, knocked down often and sacked four times in last week's 29-29 tie with the Vikings, but the knee held up. He completed 30 of 42 passes for 281 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions

"The most important thing is that you've got to make him uncomfortable in the pocket," Gruden said. "If you give him time to move around and buy time, and find a second, third option, or fifth or sixth option because he's scrambling around, he's going to dice you up.

"The team's that have had success, which aren't very many, they pressure him, and that's the key."

Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky is preparing for a fast-paced tempo from the Packers that doesn't allow for many substitutions.

"Definitely, I mean, he's one of the best in the league, you know, going to the ball quick if you sub," Manusky said. "We've made sure that we get in our situations where (if) we hadve a chance to sub, we will. There are other chances you might get caught, so we're going to be playing with the guys that we have out on the field if he's there and he does that."

The Redskins will be trying to bounce back from a 21-9 loss to the Indianapolis Colts last week.

"I think we understand that when you are playing an Aaron Rodgers-led football team, Clay Matthews, Coach (Mike) McCarthy, they are going to make some plays," Gruden said. "How we handle some type of adversity, hopefully we handle a little bit better on Sunday than what we did against the Colts. I think the guys have practiced hard, learned from their mistakes, and are ready to move on."

Offensively, the Redskins would like to get veteran running back Adrian Peterson more involved. He has rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries in two games.

"I think he's adjusting fairly well," Gruden said. "He's still new to the system and some of these shotgun runs; he's very good at behind the center, behind the quarterback.

"We are trying to feature runs that he's good at but also practice some of the runs he hasn't really done in his career. I think he's doing a good job though.

"It's getting his eyes right. It's all about his eyes as his landmark and doing what he does; making a quick slash or cut, being decisive and going. Sometimes he gets a little impatient. He has been a little impatient to make that quick cut but he's going to be fine. He's a Hall of Fame back and the more he sees, the better he will get."